Monday, October 19, 2009

Radio NZ boss dances on the head of a pin

I've never met Sean Plunket, but I do feel sorry for the poor bastard. Radio New Zealand head honcho Peter Cavanagh, fresh from an Amsterdam junket involving HDTV, IPTV, 3D, lip synching and other matters not relating to radio broadcasting, is having a go at the Morning Report presenter in the Employment Relations Authority hearing, saying that if Plunket doesn't like it, he can bugger off:
RNZ journalists Chris Laidlaw, Kim Hill and Brent Edwards gave evidence this morning that they had done work for other media while employed by RNZ. But RNZ said Hill and Laidlaw were entertainment presenters, whereas Plunket was a news presenter, so there were different ethical responsibilities in their roles.
I'm no lawyer, but Cavanagh is dancing on the head of a pin with this argument. Chris Laidlaw, aka Wellington Regional Councillor Chris Laidlaw, hosts non-entertainment segment Mediawatch on his NatRad show. A quick flick through Laidlaw's Sunday program reveals not celebrity gossip and other mundane inanities, but copyright law, the Great Recession and the Auckland Supercity proposals. That's entertainment. Yeah Right.